Trailer structures of the broad character mentioned, wherein fixed vertically spaced fore and aft arms are provided for receiving canoes, are well known for transporting canoes from one site to another. It is usual for canoe liveries, for example, to simultaneously rent a number of canoes to groups of canoers who will paddle the canoes a predesignated distance on the river or other waterway to a location where they are met by the canoe livery operator and returned to the livery. Both at the time the canoers are delivered to the place of entry to the waterway, and at the time of exit, it is necessary to transport loads of canoes to and from the waterway respectively. It is necessary to load and unload the canoes or other boats or vehicles to the transport trailers each time they are rented, and to secure them in position for transport, because usually the trailers travel, at least partly on unimproved roads. Because these transport trailers are relatively tall to accommodate a goodly number of canoes, it is quite difficult to load the canoes to the uppermost racks of present day transport trailers and secure them in position for transport. Similarly it is difficult to unfasten and unload them from the uppermost racks, and both operations are presently unduly time-consuming. Prior art patents known to applicant are as follows:
______________________________________ 2,447,959 Phillips et al 3,190,466 Hostetler 3,325,021 Burns et al 4,469,346 Low 4,701,086 Thorndyke 4,784,545 Lawrence 4,932,830 Woodburn ______________________________________
U.S. Pat. No. 4,469,346 relates to a dual load trailer in which a boat is to be supported at a level above an automotive vehicle, which is also carried by the trailer. In this patent, the boat is itself mounted on a wheeled frame and the frame is supported by pivotal uprights which must be pivoted downwardly to a position to dispose the boat supporting frame at a vertically inclined angle for release of the boat.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,932,830, another vehicle and boat trailer is disclosed, in which an upper carrier frame is mounted for slideable vertical travel on front and rear corner uprights. In this patent a cable is attached to each corner of the frame and the four cables are joined to a common ring whose position is not laterally fixed, so that there is considerable question as to whether the platform can maintain a horizontal plane as it is raised and lowered. Moreover, one of the objects of this earlier invention is to provide means for adjusting the distance between vehicles once they are loaded into position. The concept differs greatly from the structure which will be described and claimed wherein collapsible spacers or connectors are utilized between carrier frames. It is believed that none of the prior art patents, considered either singly or combinatively, disclose or are materially pertinent to the structure which is claimed, and none of them can accomplish what is desired.